to the term from adopting the ancient definition, has been the chief cause of the many errours and endless difputes upon this fubject. But there have been alfo feveral other meanings annexed to this word, which have ferved to heighten the confufion. Sometimes it is used inftead of emphasis; fometimes to exprefs the different dialects in pronunciation; and fometimes the peculiar tone or brogue of different countries; fuch as, the Scotch, Irish, or Welch accent. But I fhall always confine it, when speaking of the English accent, to its true meaning, as fet forth in the definition, which I fhall here repeat. Accent is a certain stress of the voice upon a particular letter of a fyllable which diftinguishes it from the reft, and at the same time diftinguishes the fyllable itself, to which it belongs, from the others in a word.

The

The only difference of our accent depends upon its feat, which may be either upon a vowel, or a confonant. Upon a vowel, as in the words glóry, father, holy. Upon a confonant, as in the words, hab'it, bor'row, bat'tle. When the accent is on the vowel the fyllable is long, because the accent is made by dwelling on the vowel a longer time than ufual. When it is on the confonant, the fyllable is fhort; because the accent is made by paffing rapidly over the vowel and giving a smart stroke of the voice to the following confonant. Thus the words, ad'd,'led, bid', rod, cub', are all fhort, the voice paffing quickly over the vowel to the confonant; but for the contrary reafon, the words, áll, láid, bide, róad, cube, are long; the accent being on the vowels, on which the voice dwells fome time, before it takes in the found of the confonant. Obvious as this point is, it has wholly

wholly escaped the observation of all our grammarians, profodians, and compilers of dictionaries; who, instead of examining the peculiar genius of our tongue, implicitly and pedantically followed the Greek method, of always placing the accentual mark over the vowel. Now the reafon of this practice among the Greeks was, that as their accents confifted in change of notes, they could not be diftinctly expreffed but by the vowels; in uttering which, the pasfage is entirely clear for the voice to issue, and not interrupted or stopped, as in the cafe of pronouncing the confonants. But our accent being of another nature, can just as well be placed on a confonant as a vowel. By this method of marking the accented fyllable, our compilers of dictionaries, vocabularies, and spelling books, must mislead provincials and foreigners, in the pronunciation of perhaps one half of the words in

our

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our language. For inftance, if they should look for the word, endeavour; finding the accent over the vowel é, they will of course found it endéa-vour. In the fame manner dedicate will be called dé-dicate, precipitate precí-pitate, phenom'enon phenó-menon, and fo on through all words of the fame kind. And in fact, we find the Scots do pronounce all fuch words in that manner; nor do they ever lay the accent upon the confonant in any word in the whole language; in which, the diversity of their pronunciation from that of the people of England, chiefly confifts. It is a pity that our compilers of dictionaries should have fallen into fo grofs an errour, as the marking of the accents in the right way, would have afforded one of the moft general and certain guides to true pronunciation that is to be found with respect to our tongue; as it is an unerring rule throughout the whole, without

without a fingle exception, that whenever the accent is on the confonant, the preceding vowel has always its firft fhort found, as fet forth in the scheme of vowels, and

exemplified in the words, hat, bet, fit,

I

I

not, cub. And indeed as accent is the chief clue we have to the whole pronunciation of our tongue, while its nature was mifunderstood, and its ufe perverted, it was impoffible that provincials and foreigners could ever attain it; and accordingly the difficulty of speaking English properly, has been found infurmountable to all, except the well-educated natives. To fuch I have but one rule to lay down with respect to the use of accent; which is, that they should always take care to lay it upon the fame letter of the fyllable in reading, as they are accustomed to do in common difcourfe, and never to lay any ftrefs upon any other fyllable. For there are few who ei

ther